1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to implements useful for plowing ground and for performing other operations in conditioning agricultural soil for planting, and also for use in plowing and grading in construction operations, such as breaking up old black top or cinder roads in a road bed preparatory to paving a road.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In conventional agricultural cultivation operations, a farmer makes a number of different passes over a field in which crops are to be grown in order to effectuate proper agricultural cultivation. Each time a different farm implement is drawn behind a tractor to achieve certain steps in soil cultivation. Initially, a bottom plow is dragged through a field to loosen the soil over acreage to be planted. Thereafter, a disk harrow is pulled over the same ground to break up large clods of earth. Next, a spring tooth plow is pulled behind the tractor to till the soil in preparation for planting. Thereafter, crops are typically seeded with a seed drill. A few weeks after planting it is necessary to harrow the land again with the spring tooth plow to destroy weeds that have grown up and which compete with the seedling crops for sunshine, moisture and nourishment from the soil.
In all, five different soil cultivation operations are required to properly prepare the soil and plant seeds to initiate the growth of a field of a crops. Moreover, at least four different farm implements are required to effectuate the necessary soil cultivation. In the aggregate, these operations represent a considerable expenditure of time on the part of the farmer performing them, and fuel consumed by the tractor in making the repeated runs across the same ground. For example, to cultivate 50 acres of soil for planting, approximately 50 hours are required for one person to cultivate the plot with a three to fourteen inch bottom plow. A person must also expend 10 hours to disk the same acreage and 10 additional hours to harrow the plot with a spring tooth plow. Thereafter, eight to ten hours are required to seed the acreage and subsequently 10 hours are required to harrow the plot to kill weeds. In all of these operations, a tractor is required and consumes approximately 2 gallons of fuel per hour.